Candoco Dance Company Collaborates With Alt-J Lead Vocalist Joe Newman For UK Tour of HOT MESS

This autumn, Candoco Dance Company is to collaborate with internationally renowned choreographer and designer Theo Clinkard and Joe Newman of Mercury Prize winning band alt-J. An unpredictable and anarchic performance set to a pounding, eclectic score, Hot Mess is danced amidst a striking design, as art installation meets dance piece. The explosive new work, by the company that continues to expand perceptions of what dance can be, will mark the first time Newman has written music for the stage.

Hot Mess follows Candoco's global success as the first contemporary dance company to perform on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing in November 2018. Led by Theo's exploration of 'consciously unknowing' as a vital creative source, Candoco's phenomenal dancers fearlessly embrace spontaneity and uncertainty as they navigate an environment that is constantly in flux.

Choreographer Theo Clinkard said "It feels like a huge privilege to spend each day with these extraordinary dancers. Their capacity for engaging with ideas, and deeply investing a physical conversation is unlike any other company that I have worked with. I hope to craft a work that they'll love performing for years to come and, judging by the tingling hairs on the back of my neck, a dance of quiet power and celebratory chaos is emerging for this company's ever-expanding fan base!

Whilst Joe and I have only been friends for a few years, his delicate and epic tunes have been jangling my bones and welling up my eyes for much longer. I've always found listening to his music to be a deeply physical experience and think we both are driven by an appreciation for both personal and the anthemic, so I was really excited when he accepted my invite to collaborate. In the studio, I notice that we both interpret the unexpected and incidental moments as clues for how to move forwards, so it's proving to be really intuitive and I feel like a very lucky man to be dreaming up a new live work with him"

Composer Joe Newman said "I'm excited to take my 10 years writing experience in alt-J and move it into a collaborative setting within contemporary dance. Working with Theo and the dancers at Candoco Dance Company has already been a rewarding experience. Partly, I see this as an exercise in rediscovery and I'm interested in working through a process that requires a shared outlook - that there can be no rights and wrongs and only workings out - I'm greatly anticipating the performances we create together."

The new work is paired with Yasmeen Godder's Face In, which premiered at Sadler's Wells in 2018. Set to an urban indie score, Face In presents arresting images interwoven with daring and uninhibited dance.

Candoco Dance Company celebrates different ways of seeing, of being and of making art. Its bold approach, powerful collaborations and far-reaching learning programme continually expand perceptions of #whatdancecanbe. This Christmas, Candoco will collaborate with the Royal Opera to co-produce The Lost Thing for the Linbury Theatre. This new musical reimaging of Shaun Tan's illustrated book will be brought to life by a cast of disabled and non-disabled singers, dancers and musicians, directed and choreographed by Ben Wright with music by Jules Maxwell. Alongside upcoming touring work, Candoco Dance Company will run a residential dance training intensive for young dancers this summer supported by fashion retailer ASOS.

Theo Clinkard is based in West Yorkshire and his current practice spans choreography, theatre design, performance and pedagogy. Following 20 years dancing for many of the UK's most celebrated choreographers, he launched his own company in 2012 and has steadily built an international reputation for creating affecting and visually arresting work for small, middle and large-scale theatres as well as non-theatre settings. His most recent company work for 12 performers and with live music, This Bright Field, premiered as part of Brighton Festival in 2017, while future company plans include The Century Project; a work that will span 100 years and a new large-scale stage work for 2021. Recent commissions include, Somewhat still, when seen from above for Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch and The Listening Room for Danza Contemporanea de Cuba. Forthcoming commissions include Helm for ten dancers with autism and/or learning disabilities from The Talent. Since 2015, Clinkard has been working closely with dance artist, Leah Marojević. Their first co-production, The Elsewhen Series (2018) will premiere at the V&A Museum in September. Clinkard is an Associate Artist at Brighton Dome & Festival, Dance4, The Hall for Cornwall and an Honorary Fellow at Plymouth University. www.theoclinkard.com

'Clinkard's choreography has an unforced, unhurried quality that is very much of the moment. He muses, tinkers around with his material like a bloke in a shed, and then, quietly and deftly, pulls the loose ends together. The result is intimate, human-scale and charged with joy.' «««« The Observer (Double Bill at Sadler's Wells, April 2015)

Yasmeen Godder was born in Jerusalem in 1973 and moved with her family to New York City in 1984. She studied dance at the LaGuardia High School for Performing Arts, the Martha Graham school, and the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. To date Godder has created twelve evening-length works, including Hall (2001), Sudden Birds (2002), Two Playful Pink (2003), Strawberry Cream and Gunpowder (2004), I'm Mean, I Am (2006), Singular Sensation (2008), Love Fire (2009), Storm End Come (2011), See Her Change (2013) and Common Emotions (2016). In addition to creating for her company, Godder has been commissioned by the Batsheva Dance Company, Matanicola Dance Company, Theater Freiburg, and more. All of her works have been presented in Israel and at numerous venues throughout the world including: Lincoln Center Festival, Sydney Opera House, Montpellier Danse, Hebbel Am Ufer, The Place and Tokyo Festival, among others.

Godder is the recipient of numerous awards including a 2001 New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award and the prestigious Michael Landau Prize for the Performing Arts from the Tel Aviv Municipality. Most recently Godder received the Israeli Ministry of Culture Award for "Best Creation" in 2015 for her work CLIMAX.

Running Time: 40 mins (Hot Mess), 30 mins (Face In) | Suitable for 12+

3 Oct
Warwick Arts Centre
University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL
7.30pm | £19 - £17 (Concs £15 - £12)
024 7652 4524 | www.warwickartscentre.co.uk

10 Oct
Nottingham Playhouse
Wellington Circus, Nottingham, NG1 5AF
7.30pm | £18.50 - £12.50 (Concs £16.50 - £10.50)
0115 941 9419 | www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk

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